E1342 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks July 26, 2012 

alternates Chris Brooks, Steven Legendre, 

Alex Naddour. This men’s gymnastics team is 

considered the best since 1984 when the 

United States won gold at the Los Angeles 

Olympic Games. 

Jake, like all other Americans participating 

in the Olympics, gives our country a great 

sense of pride. I join my fellow Nevadans and 

the rest of the country in wishing good luck to 

Team USA and Jake as he tries to bring home 

the gold to the Silver State. 

f 

COMMEMORATING THE LEADERSHIP ALLIANCE AND THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA 

HON. ROBERT HURT OF VIRGINIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, July 26, 2012 

Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Leadership Alliance. The Leadership Alliance, which 

includes the 5th District’s University of Virginia, is a national academic consortium of 

leading research universities and minority 

serving institutions with the mission to develop 

underrepresented students into outstanding 

leaders and role models. 

In the 20 years since its establishment, the 

Leadership Alliance has mentored over 2000 

undergraduates who have participated in the 

Summer Research Early Identification Program and over 200 alumni who have obtained 

their PhD or MD–PhD degrees as Leadership 

Alliance Doctoral Scholars. 

In the 5th District, the University of Virginia 

has mentored over 15 participants in the Summer Research Early Identification Program 

and the Summer Undergraduate Research 

Program in fields ranging from Education to 

Biomedical Sciences. 

I am pleased today to congratulate and 

commend the Leadership Alliance and the 

University of Virginia for 20 years of mentoring 

a diverse and competitive workforce. 

f 

SUPPORTING INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS FOR THE REUNIFICATION 

OF CYPRUS 

HON. STEVE COHEN OF TENNESSEE

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, July 26, 2012 

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 

urge the Administration to join in the international effort to reach a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus as a bi-zonal and bi-communal federation. This continued dispute has 

real regional and global implications. It threatens effective NATO–EU cooperation, affects 

regional stability, and also remains an obstacle to Turkey, our key partner and ally, gaining 

full membership to the European Union, which 

the United States has long supported. 

I continue to believe that a just and viable 

solution to the longstanding Cyprus problem is 

not only achievable, but also urgent and necessary. The key to the settlement in Cyprus is 

the renewal of the Partnership between the 

two equal co-owners and co-founders of the 

‘‘Republic of Cyprus’’, as established in 1960: 

Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. As a 

matter of fact, Turkish Cypriot people have 

long proven their readiness to renew the Partnership State. In 2004 they demonstrated the 

necessary political will for a comprehensive 

solution by voting strongly for the UN Settlement Plan in the separate and simultaneous 

referenda, a proposal that was overwhelmingly 

rejected by the Greek Cypriot side. 

Since assuming the European Union term 

presidency on July 1, there is no better time 

for the Greek Cypriot government to take the 

long-awaited substantial steps towards a comprehensive settlement with the Turkish Cypriots. I hope this new EU role for Cyprus will 

not hinder the continuation of reunification 

talks. In fact, I believe that Cyprus’ six-month 

term in the presidency of the EU brings extra 

responsibilities to show sincere efforts towards 

peace. 

The international community and the United 

States will have to answer a fundamental 

question in the days ahead: Are we going to 

put in place all necessary efforts in order to 

reach a comprehensive solution in Cyprus, 

and thus demonstrate the political will to that 

effect, or are we going to let an achievable 

settlement slip away once again, all the while 

perpetuating the illegitimate and unjust isolation of the Turkish Cypriot people? A continued status quo in Cyprus is not beneficial to 

any party, and the time is now to solve a dispute that has lasted for more than forty years. 

In light of recent actions by Syria and others 

in the Middle East, Turkey has continued to 

operate as an important U.S. ally in the region, and all parties acknowledge that Turkey’s membership to the European Union cannot be achieved without first tackling these 

issues in Cyprus. Therefore, all sides should 

return to the table and set a timeline for action, and this Administration should work with 

all stakeholders to ensure that any agreement 

respects human rights and ensures the fundamental freedoms for all Cypriots. 

While the people of Cyprus must ultimately 

decide their own fate, there is no better time 

for the international community to support 

such reunification efforts. As all eyes remain 

on Cyprus during its term with the EU presidency, and continued talks would signal to the 

world that both parties are committed to establishing a peaceful and prosperous future for all 

Cypriots. 

f 

RECOGNIZING NORTHWEST FLORIDA’S JUSTIN GATLIN AS A 

MEMBER OF THE 2012 UNITED 

STATES OLYMPIC TEAM 

HON. JEFF MILLER OF FLORIDA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, July 26, 2012 

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise 

today to recognize Northwest Florida’s Justin 

Gatlin as a member of the 2012 United States 

Olympic Team. Every 4 years, our nation joins 

together to root on the athletes that represent 

us at the Summer Olympic Games and for 

those of us from Northwest Florida, we will be 

rooting even harder when Justin competes in 

the 100 meter sprint to bring the gold back 

home. 

From an early age, Justin displayed an incredible God-given talent for track and field. 

He grew up in Pensacola, Florida and ran 

both sprint and hurdles to help lead Woodham 

High School to a state championship, before 

accepting a scholarship to the University of 

Tennessee. At Tennessee, Justin won six consecutive NCAA titles in two years, before turning pro at age 19. 

In 2004, Justin qualified for the Olympic 

Games in Athens, Greece by winning the U.S. 

Olympic Trials in the 100 meters and finishing 

runner up in the 200 meters. In Athens, Justin 

became the youngest ever to win the gold 

medal in the 100 meters, while also bringing 

home a silver medal as part of the U.S. 4x100 

meter relay team, and a bronze medal in the 

200 meters. He followed up his successful 

Olympic performance a year later by becoming the first American sprinter to win both the 

100 and 200 meter races at the national 

championships since Kirk Baptiste in 1985. 

That same year he became only the second 

sprinter in history to win gold medals in the 

World Championships in the 100 and 200 meters, and his victory in the 100 meters by .17 

seconds was the largest winning margin in 

World Championship history. 

After four years away from the track, Justin 

returned in 2010 to seek another gold medal. 

He won his first event in 2010 and finished 

runner up in the 2011 USA Track and Field 

Championships. In 2012, Justin has already 

had a successful season, winning the U.S. 

Olympic Trials in the 100 meters in a personal 

best 9.80 seconds, proving that he is ready to 

help the U.S. team go for gold in London this 

summer. Justin’s victory in the Olympic Trials, 

8 years after his first Olympic triumph, is an 

example of the success that can be achieved 

by working hard even after you reach the pinnacle of your career. 

Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to rise on behalf of Florida’s First Congressional District to 

recognize Northwest Florida’s own Justin 

Gatlin and wish him the best as he represents 

our country and competes for another Olympic 

gold medal. 

f 

INTRODUCTION OF THE CHILDREN’S HEALTH TASK FORCE 

ACT 

HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, July 26, 2012 

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today 

to urge my colleagues to support the Children’s Health Task Force Act. As children 

grow and develop, they are especially vulnerable to environmental health hazards such as 

air pollution, hazardous chemicals, and lead. 

The number of children at risk for lead poisoning alone remains unacceptably high. 

Today there are 442,000 children with elevated blood levels, yet Congress continues to 

drastically cut funding for lead poisoning prevention programs. There is simply no safe 

level of lead exposure for children. Research 

has shown that lead is damaging to the developing brains of young children and can have 

harmful long-term effects on behavior and IQ. 

I believe it is reprehensible to allow this kind 

of damage to happen to children. This quiet 

tragedy is entirely preventable, and it is our responsibility to protect our children and make 

lead poisoning a thing of the past. 

In 1997, former President Clinton established by Executive Order an inter-agency task 


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